Abstract: An apparatus for obtaining oceanographic information includes a controllable coherent light source providing light to an aquatic region. A telescope receives backscattered light that is filtered by an ambient light filter. A first interferometer receives filtered, backscattered light and provides a particulate backscatter output and a Brillouin backscatter output. A second interferometer accepts the Brillouin backscattered light and spatially disperses it according to frequency into a fringe pattern. An image sensor receives the fringe pattern. A processor joined to the image sensor utilizes image sensor output properties to determine oceanographic information concerning the aquatic region.

Abstract: A wide-band sigma-delta modulator is disclosed having a cascade of two moators or stages, the first stage being of third or greater order and the second being of second or greater order. Both stages utilize simple ternary quantizers to avoid linearity problems associated with the digital to analog converters in the feedback paths of the modulators and to maintain stable operation. Additional zeros are placed in the noise transfer functions of third or higher order stages by means of additional feedback loops between the output of the third integrator and the second summing junction to maximize the dynamic range. The new topology significantly enhances the dynamic range of the system while hardly affecting the circuit's sensitivity with regard to some non-idealities such as finite amplifier open-loop gains or capacitor ratio mismatches.

Abstract: A modular signal processing unit capable of being connected in series, palel or combinations thereof, is provided. Each modular unit is a parallel signal processor that receives input data on a plurality of parallel-signal input lines and sends processed data on the same number of parallel-signal output lines. Each modular signal processing unit has an input gate array for distributing the input data, a plurality of current state-of-the-art single chip, digital signal processors (DSP) to process the distributed data, and an output gate array to organize the processed data onto the parallel-signal output lines. The modular signal processing unit is easily upgraded by replacing the single chip DSP's as such technology improves.